Innovative Technology Improves Preschooler Readiness for Kindergarten
“An Action Research Project”
Dr. Kip Herren
Prelude
Retiring from a 42-year career in public education with the last 18 at the superintendent level I
had one regret, I did not publish the results of our district action research. The Auburn School
District completed a number of action research projects providing a number of high yield
learning results for system design particularly impacting K-3. The district received a number of
awards and recognition for systemic designs that produced high academic achievement despite
challenging demographics. The fast moving, complex nature of public education with ever
changing public policy year after year at the local, state and federal levels required the district
to move, adapt and move again. Consequently, the district used the action research results to
sustain an active focus on improving learning systems rather than on sharing and publishing
the results. Those research projects included Innovative Technology to Improve K-3
Achievement, Preschool Partnerships with School District provide Early Learning Success, 3rd
Grade Math and Reading Proficiency Proffer Future Success in High School Algebra and
Graduation. All of these projects demonstrated that a district investment in system support for
early learning promotes the mastery of skills implicit to standards, cognitive development and
executive function that well serves the learner’s academic future.
Introduction
The Project, “Accelerating Young Minds,” was a unique partnership that included the Auburn
School District, Kent School District, 20 Preschools, and Washington Department of Early
Learning (DEL.) The project was conducted in the Spring of 2012 and involved 302 preschoolers
aged 4 and 5. The purpose of this action research was to determine if personalized, technology
software specifically designed for preschoolers would improve student readiness for
Kindergarten. Accelerating Young Minds developed a program that was aligned to DEL Gold
standards and WaKids standards for Kindergarten success. The software program emphasized
a learning system based on brain research, reality based activities, early learning cognition,
direct/mastery learning, and a monitoring system for individual performance. The metaanalysis work of John Hattie’s Visible Learning for high yield targets and strategies was
instrumental in the construct of the “Accelerating Young Minds” software.
Methodology
The project involved 302 four and five-year old’s residing in the Kent and Auburn School
Districts. DEL provided a $25,000.00 grant so that students and families could have access to
the software learning program at daycares, preschools, and home. Districts provided 21
training sessions for students and parents on the program design, purpose and operations.
Accelerating Young Minds provided technical support for the families. Because the project was
not a school based/enrollment program, demographic data could not be gathered. However,
the subjects reside in the Kent and Auburn School Districts which have similar demographics
with a 50 percent poverty rate, 51 percent minority population, and a 25% English Language
percentage. For a period of two months during which the individual progress of each student
was monitored. AYM operates a mastery based, visual, auditory, cognitive, and progressive
system. The system measured student success on DEL Gold and WaKids standards. Over 3,500
tasks were incorporated as well as 95 unique cognitive objectives and 12,500 vocabulary
words to measure the success of each participant via continuous assessment and feedback
system. Mastery is based upon task performance, accuracy, time and application. Mastery
levels included greater than 80 percent, greater than 60 percent but less than 80 percent and
less than 60 percent.
Results
The results of the project were impressive both with the percentage of mastery and with the
speed by which students demonstrated mastery. With just an average of 10 hours on the AYM
software program 65 percent of preschool students demonstrated mastery (greater than 80%
accuracy) and 18 percent of preschool students demonstrated mastery (greater than 60 % but
less than 80%) while only 17 percent of preschool students demonstrated mastery below 60%.
In other words, with just 10 hours in the program 83% of students demonstrated high levels of
mastery or emerging mastery on the key standards of kindergarten readiness. More
importantly for students below mastery, which falls at 60%, the program gives a customized
profile guiding continued preparation for each preschool learner. For preschoolers, mastery
level profiles for each learner create the opportunity for accelerated learning. Below is some
summary data that highlight the subject performance on specific Kindergarten Entry
Assessments:
Kindergarten Entry Skills
Mastery Higher 80%
Average Mastery Time
Letter Recognition/Consonant Sounds………………………………….75%.....................................20minutes
Vocabulary/Phonics………………………………………………………………93%......................................7minutes
Letter Sounds/Spelling/Word Parts……………………………………….85%.....................................15 minutes
Phonics - Initial Sound Substitution……………………………………….78%......................................16 minutes
Counting/Estimation……………………………………………………………..77%.......................................8 minutes
Order Numerals…………………………………………………………………….63%.......................................5 minutes
Patterns…………………………………………………………………………………51%........................................8 minutes
Language……………………………………………………………………………….46%........................................9 minutes
Syllables………………………………………………………………………………...42%.......................................8 minutes
Behavior………………………………………………………………………………...50%.......................................7 minutes
The project also collected data from the families regarding their participation in Spring project.
The results are very positive. 82 percent of the participants used the programs at home and 100
percent of the respondents stated that their child enjoyed using the program. With the age of the
students at 4 and 5, 67% of students were prompted by parents while 33 percent were selfdirected. Parents were very positive about the what their children were learning with 100 percent
responding positively and 90 percent report that the program saves time in their efforts to help
their children learn. A 100 percent of parents reported that they had no problems using the
technology software and were impressed by how capable of learning their students were with the
program. Parents were queried as to their preference in using a book or the software for learning
and results show that 67% of parents prefer using both a book and software while 33 percent
preferred software only and 0 % indicated they prefer using a book only. And finally, 87 percent of
parents indicated that they did not have to assist their child during use of the program.
Implications and Recommendations
The results of this project indicate that instructional technology is a viable learning tool for
meeting early learning standards for preschoolers and Kindergarteners. It is important that
software technologies must align with best practice classroom instruction that employs high yield
targets and strategies in a personalized way that provides feedback and continuous improvement
towards mastery for each student. The use of technology proved expeditious for accelerated
learning and cognitive development, with the strong self-learning aspect of the software tool. One
preschooler reported, “the game is pretty easy to do, but I like it that if one part isn’t easy than I
get to do it again and again and again until I get it better.”
The use of effective instructional technology at the preschool level suggests that this may be a
vehicle for addressing learning gaps before the start of Kindergarten as well as providing useful
learning data as preschoolers enter public or private school. There were few barriers for parent
access to computer technology but preschools lacked the facilities and resources for utilizing the
program effectively. Parents in this project were avid supporters of their children using
technology to learn. It appears that the use of technology is a cultural manifestation of the new
parent generation.
Barriers to the use of technology may exist in the early grade levels at the public-school level
where traditionalists may reject the use of technology based on early television program learning
research in the 1980s. Failure to recognize that the effective use of artificial intelligence for active,
self-learning based on cognitive development research is a major misstep in efforts to accelerate
learning for all students. Additionally, learning technology is not bound by the resource
constraints of a traditional classroom. Rejection of early learning technology also ignores the early
learning brain research that implores that critical timeframes for enhanced cognitive
development particularly executive function in early learners.
More research is needed on for the development early learning technology. The application of
early learner brain research, play as learning, adult mediation of language and cognition
development and executive function research are key elements for future software development.
After all, the new K-12 Common Core standards are ultimately an emphasis on the development
of a fund of knowledge through active memory and critical thinking skills. So, with the everchanging impacts of governmental education policy, it is recommended to start or stay the course
for systemic structures that provide personalized, visible learning, including technology systems
for early learning achievement.